Sanitary Toilet Kit

ABSTRACT

A sanitary toilet kit includes flushable, pre-moistened wipes, a disposable toilet seat cover, and a predetermined amount of bactericide. Alternatively, the kit may include other components such as toilet paper, hand sanitizer, or gloves. The kit provides a sanitary solution for unhygienic conditions in restrooms and helps prevent the spread of disease to the user and other individuals by isolating the user from any contaminants and pathogens on both the seat and bowl of a toilet. The sanitary kit is preferably small and compact enough to be stored in a wallet, a purse, a desk, a drawer, a glove box of a car, and many other discrete locations. The kit can also be dispensed—optionally for payment—at public restroom facilities.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No.61/633,539, filed on Feb. 13, 2012, the entirety of which is herebyincorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention generally relates to toilet kits for use in publicrestrooms and methods for using such kits, and, more particularly, butnot by way of limitation, to toilet kits comprising a unique combinationof elements providing sanitary protection for both a toilet seat andtoilet bowl and methods for using such toilet kits.

2. Background of the Invention

Restrooms located outside the home are a necessity of life. People whoventure away from their home for any appreciable amount of time findthemselves using restrooms at work, at hospitals, at sporting events, atcultural events, at rest stops, and many other locations. For many,using a restroom outside one's home is an undesirable or even traumaticevent. The problem can be especially traumatic for females or anyone whomust sit on public toilets. Public toilets are typically used bynumerous people, and it is impossible to ascertain how unhygienic thetoilet currently is or even know the last time the toilet was cleaned.

Although the recent trend toward automation of hand-washing andhand-drying has led to significantly less interaction with the physicalenvironment of the bathroom, it is often impossible to avoid physicalcontact with a toilet within the restroom.

Toilet bowls and seats are notoriously unhygienic and can be covered infecal bacteria from many different genera, including Escherichia,Enterobacter, Klebsiella, Citrobacter, and Clostridium. Any one of thesegenera can cause disease in an individual, including diarrhea and otherintestinal diseases. Indeed, a recent study suggested that flushing atoilet without the lid down disburses numerous droplets of watercontaining pathogenic bacteria into the environment (Best et al.,“Potential for Aerosolization of Clostridium difficile After FlushingToilets: the Role of Toilet Lids in Reducing Environmental ContaminationRisk,” J. Hosp. Infect., 80(1):1-5 (January 2012)). These disburseddroplets of contaminated water can then be inadvertently picked up bythe next individual who uses the flushed toilet.

There have been previous attempts to provide sanitary solutions fortoilet seats. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,247,360, issued to Bester andBeaty, discloses a disposable toilet seat cover with an attached wipe.Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 7,774,869, issued to Massey, discloses aprotective toilet seat cover with a toiletry such as a disinfectantwipe. However, the prior art fails to offer a solution that provides forcleanliness of both a toilet seat and a toilet bowl. Moreover, the priorart fails to provide a compact sanitary restroom kit with a flushabletoilet seat cover, flushable wipe, and a bactericide for preventing thedissemination of harmful contaminants such as fecal bacteria onto theindividual or into the environment.

Accordingly, there is a need for portable and compact sanitary toiletkits that provide a sanitary solution for both a toilet seat and toiletbowl to protect individuals from unsanitary bathroom environments.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore an object and advantage of the present invention toprovide a sanitary toilet kit that overcomes the deficiencies of theprior art.

It is another object and advantage of the present invention to provide aminiaturized and compact sanitary toilet kit.

It is another object and advantage of the present invention to provide asanitary compact toilet kit comprising a flushable toilet seat cover, aflushable wipe, and a bactericide.

It is yet another object and advantage of the present invention toprovide a method for the use of a sanitary compact toilet kit comprisinga flushable toilet seat cover, a flushable wipe, and a bactericide.

Embodiments of the present invention comprise methods and kits forsanitary toilet use. According to one embodiment, a sanitary toilet kitcomprises: (i) a first package; (ii) a flushable wipe, which may becontained within a second package, the second package contained withinthe first package; (iii) a disposable toilet seat cover, which may becontained within a third package, the third package contained within thefirst package; and (iv) a bactericide, which may be contained within afourth package, the fourth package contained within the first package.Optionally, the sanitary toilet kit further comprises a hand sanitizer,which may be contained within a fifth package, the fifth packagecontained within the first package.

According to another embodiment, a sanitary toilet kit comprises: (i) anouter package comprising a zipper lock; (ii) a pre-moistened flushablewipe, which may be contained within a second package, the second packagecontained within the first package; (iii) a flushable toilet seat cover,which may be contained within a third package, the flushable toilet seatcover comprising an adhesive to adhere the seat cover to a toilet seat,the third package contained within the first package; and (iv) abactericide comprising sodium dichloro-s-trinzinetrine, which may becontained within a fourth package, the fourth package contained withinthe first package. Optionally, the sanitary toilet kit further comprisesan odorant and/or a hand sanitizer, which may be contained within a oneor more packages contained within the first package.

According to a further embodiment, a method for deploying a sanitarytoilet kit while using a toilet, the method comprising the steps of: (i)obtaining a sanitary toilet kit, the kit comprising: (a) a firstpackage; (b) a flushable wipe, which may be contained within a secondpackage, the second package contained within the first package; (c) adisposable toilet seat cover, which may be contained within a thirdpackage, the third package contained within the first package; and (d) abactericide, which may be contained within a fourth package, the fourthpackage contained within the first package; (ii) pouring the bactericideinto the toilet bowl; (iii) placing the disposable toilet seat coveronto the seat of the toilet; (iv) using the flushable wipe; and (v)disposing of the flushable wipe into the toilet. Optionally, thesanitary toilet kit further comprises a hand sanitizer, which may becontained within a fifth package, the fifth package contained within thefirst package, and the method further comprising the step of openingusing the hand sanitizer.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)

The present invention may be more fully understood and appreciated byreading the following Detailed Description in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a flowchart of an exemplary process for using a sanitarytoilet kit in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a front view of a sanitary toilet kit in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a reverse view of a sanitary toilet kit in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 4 is a front view of various components of a sanitary toilet kit inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring now to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer tolike parts throughout, there is shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 a sanitary toiletkit 200 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Thekit comprises a package 240 which may be clear or translucent. Tomaintain secrecy or discreteness, the package can be opaque. The package240 is preferably made of a plastic such as polyethylene or polyvinylchloride, among many other varieties. In an alternative embodiment, thepackage 240 is made of a disposable paper material that, along withother components of kit 200, can be disposed within the toilet bowlafter the kit has been used.

Package 240 further comprises an opening 210 through which the othercomponents of the kit can be inserted and removed. In one embodiment,opening 210 and/or package 240 is further equipped with a closingmechanism that can be opened and closed multiple times. For example, thepackage can comprise a “zipper closure” similar to that used with bagssold under the trademark Ziploc®. Other closure mechanisms, such asadhesive, hook and loop, snaps, clips, and rubber bands, are possible.Alternatively, the opening can be sealed closed such that it is intendedto be opened only once during use.

Package 240 can also comprise labels, including a front label 220 and areverse label 230. The front label may comprise a description of theproduct, a brand name or trademark, a logo, company information, contactinformation, or any of a wide variety of information known in the art.Similarly, the reverse label may comprise a wide variety of informationknown in the art, including but not limited to directions of use and alist of components and/or ingredients found within kit 200.

Inside package 240, kit 200 comprises several different components,including but not limited to wipes packaging 400 containing one or moredisposable wipes 410, toilet seat packaging 420 containing one or moredisposable toilet seat covers 430, and bactericide packaging 440containing an amount of bactericide 450, as shown in FIG. 4. Similar topackage 240, packaging 400, 420, and 440 are preferably made of aplastic such as polyethylene or polyvinyl chloride, among many othervarieties, although according to one embodiment the packaging is made ofa disposable paper material that can be disposed within the toilet bowlafter the kit has been used. Each of packaging 400, 420, and 440 may beclear, translucent, or opaque, and can comprise a closing mechanism thatcan be opened and closed multiple times, including any one or more ofthe closing devices described above, or a package can be sealed closedfor one-time use. Further, the packaging can optionally comprise writingor one or more labels to identify or characterize the contents.

Disposable wipe(s) 410 can be any wipes suitable to clean one or moresurfaces of the toilet and/or the human body and suitable to be disposedof after use. One method of disposing includes placing the used wipes inthe toilet bowl and flushing them. In one embodiment, wipes packaging400 comprises 1 to 5 moist flushable wipes. The wipes preferablycomprise recycled materials and can be pre-moistened with any liquid,including water and/or an antiseptic.

Disposable toilet seat cover(s) 430 can be any toilet seat cover capableof providing a sanitary barrier between the user and the toilet seat.Many different types and varieties of disposable toilet seat covers areknown in the art. In one embodiment, toilet seat packaging 420 comprises1 to 2 disposable toilet seat covers. The disposable toilet seat coverpreferably comprises recycled materials. The disposable toilet seatcover can further comprise an adhesive to promote adherence to thetoilet seat during use, thereby preventing undesired movement of thecover.

Bactericide packaging 440 preferably comprises a predetermined amount(in weight or volume) of bactericide 450, where the predetermined amountis equal or greater than the amount required to disinfect the waterwithin the toilet bowl before and/or after use of the toilet by theindividual. For example, in one embodiment, the predetermined amount isapproximately 1 teaspoon of bactericide 450, although a wide range ofamounts are possible. The bactericide can be any material capable oftrapping, incapacitating, and/or killing, including but not limited to adisinfectant, an antiseptic, an antibiotic, or a combination thereof.Examples of bacterial disinfectants include, but are not limited tochlorine, peroxides, iodine, alcohols, and heavy metals. In oneembodiment, bactericide 450 comprises sodium dichloro-S-Trinzinetrinewith an available chlorine content of approximately 56%. However,bactericide 450 other forms and concentrations of chlorinedisinfectants, including trichlors (with approximately 90% or moreavailable chlorine content) and anhydrous dichlor (with approximately62% available chlorine content. In yet another embodiment, bactericide450 further comprises an odorant or a deodorant to mask odors.

The bactericide 450 can take many forms. For example, the bactericidecan be granular. One advantage of granular bactericide is that it has alarge surface area for rapid dissolution in liquid. The bactericide canalso be in tablet form, either one large tablet or several smalltablets, such that the tablet(s) dissolves when placed in liquid. Thegranules or tablets can further comprise one or more additives toencourage rapid and efficient dissolution in water. For example, theycan comprise citric acid and/or sodium bicarbonate, which react whendropped in water to cause quick dissolution. Kit 200 can furthercomprise toilet paper. According to one embodiment the kit preferablycomprises a predetermined amount of toilet paper, where thepredetermined amount is an amount sufficient for the average consumer tocleanse a body area after using a restroom. For example, in oneembodiment. the kit comprises six perforated pieces of toilet paper. Thetoilet paper is preferably folded compactly into a small package thatfits inside the kit. A kit with toilet paper offers several advantages.For example, restrooms and/or specific stalls within the restroom arefrequently out of toilet paper, and supplying one's own toilet paperalleviates this issue. Additionally, toilet paper in public restroomscan be unsanitary or an inexpensive and therefore undesirable brand.

Kit 200 can further comprise one or more additional items, including butnot limited to gloves. The gloves, not shown, can be of theone-size-fits-all type and can be made of polyethylene as is typicallyworn in food handling. While the gloves may also be latex as are worn byhealth care professionals, these gloves can be more difficult to placeon the hand. Kit 200 may also optionally comprise a disposal bag, notshown, which can be used to hold one or more of the used components ofthe kit. In one embodiment, the disposal bag is capable of beingeffectively sealed shut so that its contents are retained within the bagin a sanitary and odor-free manner.

As yet another component, kit 200 can comprise a one-time use packagingcontaining a predetermined amount of hand sanitizer. For example,instant hand sanitizers comprising ethyl alcohol, and which do notrequire the addition of water, are popular in situations where water isnot immediately available or accessible. These hand sanitizer solutionskill germs without requiring water. Some of these hand sanitizersfurther comprise a moisturizer to avoid drying the hands with too muchalcohol.

FIG. 1 depicts a flowchart of an exemplary process for using a sanitarytoilet kit in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Atstep 100, the user retrieves the sanitary toilet kit 200. The kit ispreferably small and compact enough to be stored in a wallet, a purse, adesk, a drawer, a glove box of a car, and many other discrete locations.The kit can also be dispensed—optionally for payment—at public restroomfacilities. If the kit has instructions, the user may read them to gainan understanding of how to use the kit. The user then opens package 240of kit 200 and can access each of the components inside.

At step 110, the user identifies and opens bactericide packaging 440 andpours bactericide 450 into the water sitting in the toilet bowl. Oncethe bactericide contacts the water, it instantly begins any kill thepathogenic bacteria residing within the water. Yet another benefit of abactericide disposed throughout the toilet bowl water is that any waterthat inadvertently splashes during use of the toilet will be sterilizedprior to splashing.

At step 120, the user identifies and opens toilet seat packaging 420 toremove a disposable toilet seat cover 430. The user can then placedisposable toilet seat cover 430 on the toilet seat. If disposabletoilet seat cover 430 comprises adhesive, the user can remove anyadhesive covering prior to adhering the seat cover to the toilet seat.

At step 130, the toilet is used by the individual. This can includeliquid waste, solid waste, or a combination thereof. After theindividual has completed sitting on the toilet, the individual canremove the toilet seat cover and place it within the toilet bowl.

At step 140 of the exemplary method depicted in FIG. 1, the useridentifies and opens wipes packaging 400 and removes one or moredisposable wipes 410. The wipes can be used to clean, disinfect, and/orsoothe the hands or other parts of the body, depending on the needs ofthe user. After use, the individual can dispose of the wipes by placingthem into the toilet bowl. In an alternative embodiment, the user placesthe toilet seat cover and the wipes within a sealable bag or containerfor disposal within a garbage receptacle.

At step 160 of the method, the user safely and hygienically flushes thetoilet. This will dispose of the human waste as well as one or morecomponents of kit 200, including but not limited to the disposablewipes, the toilet seat cover, and any of the packaging that isflushable.

In addition to the steps described above, if kit 200 comprises anyadditional components, use of those components may comprise a furtherstep. For example, if kit 200 comprises a hand sanitizer, the handsanitizer can be used by the individual after he or she has completelyfinished the other steps. The user opens the package and squeezes ordispenses sanitizer onto their hands and rubs their hands together todisperse the alcohol-containing solution (although, notably, some handsanitizers work without alcohol).

It can be seen that use of the sanitary toilet kit described hereinprovides a sanitary solution for both the seat and bowl of a toilet andhelps prevent the spread of disease to the toilet user and to any otherindividuals that might result from the use of the toilet by isolatingthe toilet user from the contaminated and pathogenic toilet. This isaccomplished in a convenient and efficient manner using the sanitarytoilet kit described herein. The sanitary toilet kit and method alsoprovides a convenient and compact packaging for transporting and storingthe kit.

In addition to providing a healthier, more sanitary restroom experience,the sanitary toilet kit and method described herein may also provide afaster restroom experience by providing and organizing all the necessarycomponents for the individual, literally at their fingertips.

The sanitary toilet kit described herein is also sufficiently compactand miniaturized to allow ease of carrying the kit to a restroom. Forexample, the kit can fit comfortably in a pocket, purse, briefcase,backpack, or other articles that are commonly carried to or used atlocations containing restrooms. This is especially advantageousconsidering the fact that items such as purses have been increasinglysmaller in recent years, and therefore have less storage space. Thus,not only can the kit be carried easily and efficiently, but it can alsobe used, carried or stored privately and discretely.

Although the present invention has been described in connection withvarious embodiments, it should be understood that modifications,alterations, and additions can be made to the invention withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention as defined by the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A sanitary toilet kit comprising: a firstpackage; a flushable wipe contained within said first package; adisposable toilet seat contained within said first package; and abactericide for use in a toilet bowl, said bactericide contained withinsaid first package.
 2. The sanitary toilet kit of claim 1, furthercomprising: a hand sanitizer contained within said first package.
 3. Thesanitary toilet kit of claim 1, further comprising toilet paper.
 4. Thesanitary toilet kit of claim 1, wherein said bactericide compriseschlorine.
 5. The sanitary toilet kit of claim 4, wherein saidbactericide comprises sodium dichloro-s-trinzinetrine.
 6. The sanitarytoilet kit of claim 1, further comprising: a pair of disposable glovescontained within said first package.
 7. The sanitary toilet kit of claim1, wherein the disposable toilet seat cover comprises an adhesive. 8.The sanitary toilet kit of claim 1, wherein the first package isre-sealable.
 9. The sanitary toilet kit of claim 1, wherein theflushable wipe is pre-moistened.
 10. The sanitary toilet kit of claim 1,wherein the disposable toilet seat cover is flushable.
 11. A sanitarytoilet kit comprising: a first package comprising re-sealable means; apre-moistened flushable wipe contained within said first package; aflushable toilet seat cover comprising an adhesive to adhere the seatcover to a toilet seat, said flushable toilet seat cover containedwithin said first package; a bactericide for use in a toilet bowl, saidbactericide comprising dichloro-s-trinzinetrine and contained withinsaid first package; toilet paper contained within said first package;and a hand sanitizer contained within said first package.
 12. Thesanitary toilet kit of claim 11, wherein said kit further comprises anodorant.
 13. The sanitary toilet kit of claim 11, further comprising: apair of disposable gloves located within said first package.
 14. Amethod for deploying a sanitary toilet kit while using a toilet, themethod comprising the steps of: obtaining a sanitary toilet kit, the kitcomprising: (i) a first package; (ii) a flushable wipe contained withinsaid first package; (iii) a disposable toilet seat cover containedwithin said first package; and (iv) a bactericide located containedwithin said first package; pouring said bactericide into a toilet;placing said disposable toilet seat cover onto a seat of said toilet;using said flushable wipe; and disposing of said flushable wipe into thetoilet.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein the sanitary toilet kitfurther comprises a hand sanitizer contained within said first package,and the method further comprising the step of: using the hand sanitizer.16. The method of claim 14, wherein the sanitary toilet kit furthercomprises a pair of disposable gloves located within said first package,and the method further comprising the steps of: donning the disposablegloves from the sanitary toilet kit; and removing the disposable gloves.17. The method of claim 14, wherein the disposable toilet seat covercomprises an adhesive, and wherein the step of placing said disposabletoilet seat cover onto the seat of said toilet comprises the step ofaligning the adhesive with the toilet seat.
 18. The method of claim 14,wherein the flushable wipe is pre-moistened.
 19. The method of claim 14,wherein the disposable toilet seat cover is flushable.
 20. The method ofclaim 14, further comprising the step of: discarding the remainder ofthe sanitary toilet kit.